First Look: New RockShox Super Deluxe & Vivid Shocks
The Trail and Gravity shocks, Super Deluxe and Vivid, receive new air springs, a new damper and more adjustability.
RockShox tells us the latest generation of the Super Deluxe and Vivid Shocks have been engineered to deliver a smoother, more controlled ride with more tunability. To produce a consistent and predictable feel throughout the travel, all the updates are geared around their new LinearXL air spring.
Key to tuning air shocks is having the ability to add progression and RockShox has that covered with both new shocks. To fine-tune performance, the Super Deluxe has a new “O-ring” token system and the Vivid has the more traditional token adjusters.
Control and customization have also been worked on with the RC2T damper which offers a wide and highly usable range of both Low Speed Compression (LSC) and High Speed Compression (HSC) adjustments. The compression circuits now work independently, eliminating cross-talk between settings – the idea is to give riders the ability to fine tune performance to exactly what they are after. A new numbered compression dial makes tuning even more intuitive.
RockShox says the redesigned base valve reduces internal floating piston (IFP) forces by 40% while the main piston compression tunes have been matched to the performance of the new Charger 3.2 damper, thereby enhancing mid-stroke support.
There’s also a few practical design improvements to make adjustments easier. The removable rebound knob doubles as a high-speed compression adjuster, and there are 15 clicks of rebound adjustment on the Super Deluxe with 20 clicks on the Vivid.
For hard hits, the Super Deluxe shock features a Jounce Bottom Out bumper paired with an optional Hydraulic Bottom Out system that restricts oil flow in the final 20% of travel while the Vivid has five external compression settings for the Hydraulic Bottom Out. Overall, both shocks sure sound dialed. Stay tuned for a review. //
sram.com
[ RockShox is distributed in South Africa by Cape Cycle Systems ]